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Trade shows can be a fantastic way to make sales, increase your network, find vendors or partners and assess the competition. But if you aren’t prepared in advance, organized on the day, and strategic afterwards, you can end up wasting time and resources. But there are steps you can take to ensure you have a successful trade show – building your brand as creative, relaxed, informed or whatever you want your business to project.

Ways to make sure that you have a successful trade show:

Even when a candidate looks great on paper, you tend to hold your breath until you meet them. Can they back up their experience with strong examples? Why are they looking for a new position? Without a crystal ball, it’s part interrogation and part instinct. But many employers try to get better predictors of success with behavioral interview questions. behavioral interview questions

How to ask behavioral interview questions:

For anxious job seekers, resume lies are of the most common ways that some people stretch the truth.  If your conscience does not keep you from deceit, the fact that human resources professionals are on to the game should. Surveys found that these professionals have increased the amount of time they spend checking references in the last three years. Remember every lie needs another one to back it up.  Don’t do it. Seriously.

resume lies

Here are some of the most common resume lies:

Whether you are starting a business, in a high growth stage, or just reduced staff, it’s easy to find yourself stretched too thin. Either you are doing too many tasks, or you’re doing things you aren’t very good at – spending a ton of time getting new email up and running, or figuring out which financial software to use. Using a virtual assistant – someone who works from their home or an office in a different location – could be a great solution to ease your workload how you want, when you want. using a virtual assistant

Ways you could be using a virtual assistant:

One of the primary reasons new businesses fail is they simply don’t have enough money. Sure, sometimes they just have a terrible business idea (mittens for cats was not the hole in the market you envisioned). But usually it’s money, and a great business plan – written thoughtfully and early – will reveal potential money problems (and probably the mittens problem too). But people often think of a business plan as a document to provide to a lender or an investor to solicit cash. And that’s certainly true. But even if you don’t need money, you still need a plan. great business plan

Here’s why you need a great business plan:

There are all kinds of exciting firsts when you start your own business. First client, first check, first hire and … first office, of course. Why not? It’s exciting to have an address. It makes your company feel legitimate. It makes you feel legitimate. But it can also be an expensive, scary investment. A good option can be a coworking space – you get to feel like you have a real, physical space, without the commitment of a private office location. But in fact, that is only one of the many benefits. coworking space

Here is why you should use a coworking space:

We are a small business nation. No matter how much you hear about Wall Street or Big Pharma or even Hollywood, millions of Americans work for small businesses. And more and more people want the ultimate small business – a company of one. They want to be a successful solopreneur – permanently, not building an empire, but a happy cottage. But it’s not for everyone.

successful solopreneur

Can you become a successful solopreneur?

There are some reports that your job search should average one month for every $10,000 of annual salary you wish to earn – so your next $60,000 per year job should take about half a year to land. But what if it’s been much longer than expected and you’re still unemployed? Is that because you’re doing something wrong? Just unlucky? Just impatient?

why you're still unemployed

Here are reasons you’re still unemployed:

It's great to be the boss. When you run your own business, it can feel really fulfilling to be only accountable to yourself. No one playing politics with your career, no dreaded annual reviews, no painful holiday party. But...also...no risk, no excuses, and . . . no days off. If you want to take a vacation when you work for yourself, it gets tricky to find the time and the money. Whether you're a solopreneur, or managing  a hundred employees, it's not as easy as just putting on the out of office.

how to take a vacation when you work for yourself

You can (and should) take a vacation when you work for yourself :

Even if you can’t ask for it like Aretha, you know how important it is to be respected at work. Whether you’re the least experienced or in the corner office, feeling valued and important can be worth more than your paycheck. And it can take doing just a few things right -- or wrong – to gain or lose respect. respected at work

What you can do to get (and stay) respected at work: